ABC Islands Infrastructure

[JBee]

EV's will have enough storage to power the grid with only 15-20% of cars being EV. So you could do that sooner rather than later and at next to no extra cost.

In comparison, currently, ICE has 20 times the energy conversion capacity of the power grid.

Sponsored

 

[ldjessee]

I'd assume they still have fossil use because they have BOPEC an Venezuelan oil depot on the island they can tap from? Cheapest fuel on the planet atm, so RE investment is likely to be expensive in comparison.

The biggest problem with "island grids", which I also live in, is supply intermittency. Storage helps, but the cheapest way to keep baseload operational is fuel powered generation, which is also what we have. In our case they simply cycle through a few fossil generators that run at partial load, meaning that most of the power (up to 80-90%) can come from solar and wind, but when load ramps up they just throttle up the generators, or start one or two more. The other benefit is that they don't need large storage to overcome times with no wind at night, and as such off peak times are fairly cheap to operate in as well using fuel.

It would be an ideal place to implement V2G though, in that any extra battery capacity in EV's could be used to buffer the grid, seeing they don't need all the range on a small island.

On Bonaire, that facility was locked up and is not in use, as there was some disagreement between Bonaire and Venezuela. There seemed to be no love loss nor seeming like anyone was in a hurry for it to be re-opened, especially as the fire (2010) seems remembered and related spills and damages to the environs on and around the island.

All supply on an island is intermittent... Diesel fuel for the generators can be disrupted and delayed...
Sunshine and wind seem more reliable that shipment of diesel to me... but that is my opinion.

I think a few more wind turbines, some storage, and putting solar on residential and business buildings would really cover a lot of the use.

As for EV to grid acting as a virtual peaker plant, I could see that.

I could see places with the need for larger charging and storage, like scooter rental, maybe even boat rental, once they are moved to EV, I could see them, when docked, connected to the grid to act as virtual power plant. Most boats spend a lot of time at dock.

 

[Hunter]

Yeah, I thought the same after having visited Kauai, but they did get some Tesla storage. ...

True enough. I agree that many EVs have too much range for an island.

I lived on Kauai for a few years. We had a Nissan Leaf there. We loved it. It had about 100 miles of range. Plenty of range where we lived which was about in the middle.

Sadly, the Nissan dealer on Kauai is badly gouging for a replacement battery! Attached is a slightly redacted copy of their invoice from a friend of ours, showing a price tag of $25,000 for a replacement battery for a Leaf (or about $26,085 total with labor)!

So when we moved to the mainland as part of our carbon footprint downsizing, we shipped the Leaf back with us rather than leave it there to be scrapped when the battery finally wore out. My partner's daughter is now driving it here in California and she loves it as it's got just the right amount of range to get her to and from work.

---

We also got to tour one of the new huge new solar and battery farms there. Outstanding what they have already accomplished!

And one of the other challenges for ocean island EV living is that it's hard on electronics. The chargers on Kauai kept breaking and was a lot of trouble to keep complaining as they often took way too long to get working again. Someone needs to develop a more reliable charging station. The newer ChargePoints were the best. The Semi-connect were the worst. Semi-connect did finally replace them. Also Hawaii passed a law that required chargers (like in large parking lots) need to be maintained by law.

 

[ldjessee]

Sadly, the Nissan dealer on Kauai is badly gouging for a replacement battery! Attached is a slightly redacted copy of their invoice from a friend of ours, showing a price tag of $25,000 for a replacement battery for a Leaf (or about $26,085 total with labor)!

So when we moved to the mainland as part of our carbon footprint downsizing, we shipped the Leaf back with us rather than leave it there to be scrapped when the battery finally wore out. My partner's daughter is now driving it here in California and she loves it as it's got just the right amount of range to get her to and from work.

---

We also got to tour one of the new huge new solar and battery farms there. Outstanding what they have already accomplished!

And one of the other challenges for ocean island EV living is that it's hard on electronics. The chargers on Kauai kept breaking and was a lot of trouble to keep complaining as they often took way too long to get working again. Someone needs to develop a more reliable charging station. The newer ChargePoints were the best. The Semi-connect were the worst. Semi-connect did finally replace them. Also Hawaii passed a law that required chargers (like in large parking lots) need to be maintained by law.

I own a Leaf now! I have a 2017 and bought it new. I have lost only a single battery health bar so far, but we baby it. Every Nissan dealer wants too much for one of those battery packs. I had considered looking into a replacement made with 2170s, but then since there is no thermal management, it would be in the same situation...

Having been to several islands (Caribbean and else where), I always thought they were wet climates and very humid, but these were definitely not that. It really shocked me to find out they get 16 inches on average of precipitation a year.

For being so close to the sea, unless it is really close, not a lot of rust. The boats and such are rusty, but cars, buildings, etc... about the same or not as much as cars in Indiana. I had to really reset my brain on how I thought about island living.

 

[chalupacabre]

Aruba has a refinery, but only produces distillates, so no gasoline. Once a whaling station and former Exxon facility, partially built by the Nazi's, as there are still valves and such embossed with the Swastika.

 

[ldjessee]

Aruba has a refinery, but only produces distillates, so no gasoline. Once a whaling station and former Exxon facility, partially built by the Nazi's, as there are still valves and such embossed with the Swastika.

That was not made clear when I was there, just that it was a major source of money in the local economy.

Thanks for the additional information!

Sponsored